Condensing apparatus.



E. THOMSON. GONDENSING APPARATUS. APPLIOATION FILED MARZ, 190s.

Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

lmventor; Ele'hu Thmmson uaurnn erairns raran'r ELIHU THOMSON, OFSWAMPSCOTT, MASSAQHUSETTS, ASSIGHQR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPAFY, ACORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

GONDENSING APPARATUS;

Specificationof Letters Eatcnt.

PatentedDe c. 9, 19113.

Application filed March 2, 1908. Serial No. 418,763.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

3e it lrnonn that I. iIIU Trronson, a citizen of the United States,residing at Swampscott, in the county of Essex, State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Condensing"Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to condens- 5 ing systems for steamturbines or other prime movers and has for its object to improve andsimplify their constructlon and mode of operation.

In carrying out my invention, a turbineor other prime mover is provided,which re- 1 ceives steam from a suitable boiler and eX-j hausts into asurface condenser.

This condenser may be cooled by salt Water or that from anysuitablesource; and the Water need not be particularly clean since itdoes not; mix with the water of condensation. The rej ciprocatmg airpump such as'is commonly.

used to extract air from the condenser system, forms, in mostinstallations, a large portion of the plant. I dispense Wlllll such apump and substitute therefor 21 barometric column of about thirty-fouror thirty-five feet in height. The upper end of the col umn is usuallyprovided with a nozzle having a throat which hasan anterior convergingportion and a posterior diverging portion. larg'cd to form a chamber,and connecting this chamber with the exhaust steam space.

pump, and. means to control-the discharge of water, such as an automaticfloat actuated water valve. The air subsequent to entertritugal pump.Under some conditions it may be impossible or undesirable to have a longvertical column owing to the lack of head room or for some other reason.In such cases I may make the column shorter and connect a suitable airpump to the air chamber in the trap at the lower end of the tall column.Owing to the fact that the air bythe time it reaches the trap and isliberated from the water is'much more dense than that in the condenseritself, no trouble will be experienced in pumping it out with f acomparatively small and simple high speed pump.

in order that the water of condensation may work to the best advantagein the column, a cooling means is employed therefor which means may withadvantage, be acted upon by the circulatingwater before it enters thecondenser. A centrifugal pump draws water of condensation through thecooling means, and discharges it through a nozzle located in the chamberin the top of the column. As the water descends it Withraws air from thecondenser and usually a small amount of uncondensed vapor. The ampshould be either located below the evel of the hot well and coolingmeans or else arrangements must be made for priming The anterior portionis further en ing the trap with the water separates therei from andenters a chamber at the top from which it escapes from time to time.when' the pressure is grcatenough to open the ecliclosin'g valve. Whenthe waterlevel reaches a certain height it opens the float valve andpermits water to escape from the trap; The waternecessary. to operatethe barometric column is taken from the hot Well of the condenser andraised by a high-speed cenit with a check valve to ar'event back flowfrom the pump toward the cooling means. The pump may be driven by aturbine, or an electric motor and the latter may with advantage receiveits energy from the generator driven by the main prime mover.

. Since it is necessary to supply the boiler with water, I utilize thesame pump-for this purpose that supplies the barometric column; In thecase ofthe column the pressure necessary to raise the'water iscomparatively small while that necessary to force water into the boilermust necessarily be considerably greater. To carry-out this part ofn yvention, I provide a centrifugal pump cornr prising a suitable casingwith inlets and out;

lets and an impeller having portions of different idian'ieter; thatdrawing the smaller diameter being used to supply water to the columnand that having the larger diameter being used to supply the boiler. Itwill thus be seen that the water of condensation is kept entirelyseparate from the .coolin or, circulating water, and that it is returne,to

the boiler to maintain its level and is ,sup-

plied to the column to extract air'from the condenser. In such a systemit Wlll be found necessary to add a certain amount of makeup water fromtime to time on account of leakage, and this may be done in the usualmanner.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates one of the ways ofcarrying out my invention, Figure 1 shows diagrammatically a condensingsystem receiving the exhaust from a steam turbine; Fig. i is an axialsection of the centrifugal pump taken on line 22 ofFig. 1, and Fig. 3 isa cross section showing the lower'end of the barometric column and takenon the line 33 of Fig. 1.

1 indicates a steam turbine or other prime mover which is directlyconnected to the electric generator 2. Steam for the prime mover issupplied by the boiler 3, and the exhaust of the turbine is conveyed bythe conduit 4 to the surface condenser 5. The latter may be of anysuitable construction. In the present instance, it comprises tube sheets(3 located at opposite ends for supporting the tubes 7. These tubesarein communication with chambers 8 in opposite ends which are filled withcooling or circulating water. Thiswater is supplied by the conduit 9 andis discharged by the conduit 10. The former is connected with a suitablewater supply in any convenient manner.

In order to extract the air from the vapor space of the condenser aTorricellian or barometric column 11 is provided. This column isthirty-four or thirty-five feet high and at the upper end is providedwith a nozzle 12 which first converges and then diverges. The water ofcondensation from the hot well is discharged into the downwardly openingnozzle 1-3. Surrounding the discharge n02:- zle 18 is a chamber 14 whichis connected by the conduit 15wvith the vapor space of the co-ndenser.As the water descendsthrough the column .11 it carries With it'the airand some uncondensed vapor from the con denser.

The lower end of the column extends into 'a trap 16 provided with asuitable casing having a chamber 17 for air and a chamber 18 for water,the two' being in constant communication. through orifices .19. Thelower end of the column is provided with a cross piece 20 of the shapeshown in Fig. 3. The object of this is to impart to the water issuingfrom the column a rotary motion, which will permit the air to separatefrom the Water at a point or points near the column and pass into the.chamber 17. hen the pressure accumulates to a certain point it willopen'the valve 21 and be discharged, after which the small weight 22 orother means closesthe valve. Inside of the water chamber 18' is a valve24 that controls the outlet to the'pipe 25 and is actuated by the float26, When the'water Within the chamber rises to a predetermined level, itopens the valve and permits water to escape until the level hasdecreased to a certain amount when-the valve automatically-closes. Thepipe 25 is in direct communication with the hot well 27 of thecondenser, and the latter is connected with the suction side of thecentrifugal pump 2-8. Included in the connection between the hot welland the pump is a cooling means 29 which may be made in a variety ofways. In the present instance it is shown as being composed of a coil ofpipe bent back and forth on itself. This coil. is inclosed in a casing30 which forms a part of the conduit conveying cooling water to thecondenser. The water from the hot well iselevated by the centrifugalpump and after passing through the conduit 31 is dis charged by thenozzle 13.' The same pump also conveys water by the pipe 32 to the.boiler 3. This pump is driven by a motor,

such as a steam turbine or an electric motor located on the side awayfrom the observer. The construction of the pump'is best shown in Fig. 2,wherein 33 indicatesthe driving" shaft and 34- the impeller mountedthereon. This impeller comprises two portions, 35 and 36, which differin diameter. The portion 35 having the smaller diameter will impart lesspressureto the water than the portion having the larger diameter, andfor this reason the former is employed to supply water to the barometriccolumn, and the latter to The impeller supply water 'to the boiler. islocated in a suitable casing having supply chambers 37 on opposite sidesthereof, and low pressure out-lets 38 and a high pressure outlet 39. Itis to be noted that the cooling water piping or system has no connectionwith that of the-water of condensation. the two being entirely distinct,and that the water-0f condensation is employed for extracting air fromthe condenser.

l/Vhen the column 11 has to be madeshorter for one reason or another asuction air pump 40 is provided. which driven by an electric niotor,'orother suitable agency, and is connected on the suction side to'tlieair'chamber 17 at the lower endof the fall column 11. As the density ofthe air in this chamber is relatively high the labor of pumping" will becomparatively light, and

the pump need only be of a comparatively small size.

By reason of my invention, I have avoided all the complications madenecessary by the use of reciprocating pumps, and substituted thereforapparatus that OCOLlDlGS a.

minimum amount of room, and which is very simple and of a relativelycheap construction.

For the barometric column spoken of. may

be substituted a jet impelled by suilicient force to carry the airforward with it and deliver the same through the water seal into thechamber from which it afterward es capes. Such a jet arrangement I wouldcon sider a substitute for that part of my invention com-pr ising thebarometric column,

since the force of the water jet supplies the necessary difference ofpressure instead of the height of the column.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I havedescribed the principle of operation of my invention together with. theapparatus which. I now consider to represent the best embodimentthereof; but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown isonly illustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by othermeans.

\Vhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is

1. In combination, a prime mover, a surface condenser that receives allof the exhaust vapor from the prime mover and condenses it, means forsui 'iplying cooling water to the condenser and imiintaining it separatefrom the water of condensation, a means separate from the condenser andconnected to its vapor space that acts solely to.

extract air and uncondenscd from the condenser and comprises a fallcolumn, and a pump which receives water of condensation only from thecondenser and discharges it into the upper end of said column, the'cooling water and the water of condensation being separately maintained.

In combination, a prime mover, a surface condenser that receives all ofthe exhaust vapor from the prime mover and condenses it, means forsupplying cooling water to the condenser and maintaining it separatefrom the water of condensation, a means which acts solely to extract airand uucordensed gases from the condenser that comprises a fall column, aconnection from the top thereof to the vapor space at the top of thesaid condenser, a centrifugal pump that receives Water of condensationonly from the condenser and discharges it into the upper end of saidcolumn, and an air trap located at the bottom of the column in which thewater'and vapors separate.

3. In combination, a prime mover, a surface condenser that receives allof the exhaust vapor from the prime mover and condenses it, means forsupplying cooling water to the condenser and maintaining it separatefrom the water of condensation, a means which acts solely to extract airand uncondense'd gases from the condenser that comprises a fall column,a connection from the top of the column to the vapor space at the top ofsaid COHClCDSGI HIId an automatically acting trap with which the lowerend of the column communicates, which trap discharges air when thepressure therein reaches a certain predetermined value ,and dischargesthe water of condensation when the level thereof exceeds a certainpredetermined point.

4. In combination, a prime mover, a survapor space of said condenser, anautomatic trap into which the lower end of the column extends, said trapbeing constructed and arranged to release the air contained therein whenthe pressure exceeds a predetermined value and to discharge water ofcondensation when the level thereof exceeds a certain point, a coolerfor the Water of condensation, a connection between the trap and thelower part of the condenser and the cooler,

and a centrifugal pump which receives water of condensation unmixed withthe cooling water from the cooler and discharges it into the upper endof the column.

5. In combination, a prime mover, aboiler for supplying vapor thereto, asurface condenser that receives all of the vapor exhausted from theprime mover and condenses it, means for supplying cooling water to thecondenser, said cooling Water being maintained entirely separate fromthe water of condensation, a means separate from the condenser that actssolely to extract air from the condenser and comprises a fall column, aconnection between the vapor space at the upper part of the condenserand the top of the column, and a trap connected to and receiving thewater of condensation from the column, said trap acting to control theescape of air from the water, and a centrifugal pump connected to andreceiving water from the lower part of the condenser and from the trapafter air has been separated therefrom which pump discharges water ofcondensation at different pressures to the upper end of the column andto the boiler respectively.

6. In combination, a prime mover, a boiler for supplying vapor thereto,a surface condenser that receives all of the vapor exhausted from theprime mover and con denses it, means for supplying cooling water to thecondenser, said cooling water being maintained entirely separate fromthe water of condensation, a means separate from the condenser that,acts solelyto extract air from the condenser and comprises a fallcolumn, a connection between the vapor space of the condenser and thetopof the column, and a trap connected to and re1, l'

ceiving the Water of condensation from the eolumn,'sa1d trap acting tocontrol the escape of air from the water, and a centrifugal pumpconnected to and receiving water of the pump, and means for conveyingthe cooling Water over the surfaces of the cooler on its way to thecondenser.

7. In comlolnation, boiler, a prime mover supplied with vapor therefrom,acondenser I that receives all of the exhaust vapor from the primemover, means for circulating a cooling liquid through the condenser andkeeping it out of contact witlrthe liquid caused by condensation of theexhaust vapor, fall column, a connection. between the column and theupper end of the condenser to remove air from said condenser, anautomaticall acting trap at the bottonr of the column, a centrifugalpump that is located below the level of the condenser and receivesliquid due to condensatlon therefrom unmixed with the cooling water andfrom the trap and supplies it to the column, and a means for reducingthe temperature of the liquid prior 'to its discharge into the upper endof the column.

8. In combination, a prime mover, a surface condenser for condensing allthe exhaust vapor therefrom, conduits delivering circulating Water toand receiving it from the condenser, a fall column, a connection fromits upper end to the vapor space of the condenser, a pump which receivesthe Water of condensation unmixed with the circulating water from thecondenser and discharges it into the top of column where by its fall it.creates a. suction in said connection thereby extracting air from thecondenser, and

means cooperating with thelower end of the column to control thedischarge of air and the water of condensation.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto setmy hand this twenty sixth day ofF ebruary, 190%.

ELIHU THOMSON. W itnesses JOHNCA. Molvinxus, J12,

(JHARLES A. Barnum.-

